Daily Link: Statheads like Murphy
For those of you who enjoy the insights at the Wage of Win Journal (I do), you should be happy to read what Ian Levy wrote about new Nets PF Troy Murphy:
Murphy was among the most productive front court players in the league last season, posting a WP48 of 0.281 and producing 13.7 Wins over the course of the season. Murphy has obvious limitations at the defensive end, but is an extremely efficient scorer and a very strong rebounder. Murphy scored 1.10 Point Per Shot last season and grabbed 15.1 Reb/48. His 28.1% Defensive Rebound Rate over the past three seasons was bested by only Carlos Boozer, Dwight Howard, Joel Pryzbilla and Marcus Camby. Replacing him is going to be no small task.
I’ll be interested to see how Avery Johnson accounts for Murphy’s lack of defensive chops, especially when paired with Brook Lopez who can be rough around the edges defensively as well. Still, I expect the acquisition of Murphy to be one of the better trades the organization has made in recent history.
Pierce's best defensive ratings came before Garnett and Thibideau arrived. It's a misperception to say that he was a bad defender who is an example that everyone is capable of playing good defense. He has always been a strong defender, one with great lateral quickness, strength and long arms. Ray Allen on the other hand deserved his poor defensive rep but in hindsight, the fast-paced playing style he played in Seattle probably exaggerated it. At least he had the quick feet that with big men having his back and a good system made him capable of playinf good defense.
I'm not sure Murphy is defensively redeemable. His physical tools on defense aren't great and big men usually can't be protected on defense as instead, they're the ones doing the protecting. It takes having Jordan and Pippen on the wings to protect a PF as bad on defense as Murphy has been throughout his career.
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